PM says it is 'staggering' he was not told Mandelson failed vetting

Keir Starmer told MPs it was ‘staggering’ that he was not told Peter Mandelson had failed vetting checks and acknowledged parliament should have known about it ‘a long time ago’.

The prime minister said Foreign Office officials had approved Mandelson’s developed vetting status, enabling him to see secret information as ambassador to the US, despite the recommendation of security experts not to grant clearance.

Starmer said he would not have proceeded with the appointment of Mandelson if he had known UK Security Vetting (UKSV), the agency responsible for conducting assessments, had declined to approve the peer.

The prime minister effectively fired the Foreign Office’s top civil servant Sir Olly Robbins after finding out last week that Mandelson’s vetting status had been granted despite failing the UKSV check.

But Starmer insisted he took personal responsibility for the ultimate decision to appoint the controversial former Cabinet minister to the Washington post.

Mandelson was sacked in September last year after revelations about the extent of his relationship with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Starmer said: ‘At the heart of this, there is also a judgment I made that was wrong. I should not have appointed Peter Mandelson.

‘I take responsibility for that decision, and I apologise again to the victims of the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who were clearly failed by my decision.’

By David Hughes, Nina Lloyd and David Lynch, Press Association

source: PA

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